So this is what Raptors fans have degraded too... I know everyone is disappointed that the Raptors haven't lived up to expectations, but seriously? By the way, this is mostly pointing to the new Rookies that are new to RaptorsRepublic. Are you guys that bi-polar? One game where we play amazing defense and offense, everyone is praising Casey on how he's amazing and how he changed the defensive culture of the team. When we lose in the 4th quarter, everyone is on Casey's tail on how he sucks and how he should be fire. Seriously? Use your head before you comment. Casey has made some coaching mistakes this year especially in 4th quarter situations, but that doesn't warrant a firing. When he gets the Raptors clicking (like the 1st and 3rd quarter of the Philly game), DC is doing a good job coaching and getting everyone involved. It's only been a damn month. Don't let your rage get in the way of your judgement. *deep breath* Rant over...

Listen, I am an avid Casey supporter. BUT. for 3 games now, during the fourth quarters, I would turn to my friend and let him know that some of those rotations are pretty weird for a 4th quarter... I would always wonder where JV was, why Bargs was playing at certain times, why lucas and calderon were on together (we are ahead all game, lets throw in this failed experiment at the end of the 4th and lose), why Demar played SF, Lowry SG, and why Bargs was on during a small Philly lineup which lit up our perimeter in the 4th.

Its like we are doing everything well all game, and then Casey decides to change to a new game plan in the fourth. These changes have cost us games in which we were decidedly ahead either in the 4th or late in the 3rd (10pt+ lead). These changes are uncalled for, and have knocked us out of the rhythm that got us the lead in the first place.

Casey has not shown any ability to institute crunch time defense, and we resort to the strategy of trying to outlast the team. Even our win in Orlando, I was certain they weren't going to score over 80, the way we played through out the first 3 quarters. Then all of a sudden its a 5 point game with time left in the period!
The win against Indiana was a much larger lead before they made a game out of it in the 4th.
I dont want to bring up Utah. But you get the point.

Are you seriously questioning an NBA coach, enlightment? One poster told me that playing the rooks in crunch time would possibly damage their psyche if things went wrong! Give it time. In the 78th game of the season, Casey will finally have his rotations down pat.

I agree with Blacklash2K4, Its clear DC has made some costly mistakes to start the season but I don't believe they warrant him being fired. It would be a shame to fire him this early in the year similar to what happened to him in Minnesota. If I would point the finger anywhere I would direct some of the blame towards Bryan Colangelo for his poor job managing this team from a personnel perspective.

wow, please never use that color to post again...
My eyes hurt just trying to read it.

And yes I AM questioning 2 pg lineups, keeping JV on the bench even after Amir fouls out, and giving DM minutes.
Its a coaches job to keep the play steady, obviously our blown leads are the most consistent thing happening this season, and ALWAYS in the fourth; precisely when Casey tries out some weird whacky way-out lineups and starts calling some inappropriate plays.

Look, I'm pissed with Casey so far this year as are so many. Some are probably overreacting with firing threats and stuff... nonetheless Casey has REALLY been bad this year. I'm not saying he needs to be fired but right now he is part of Raptors problems and since he is the head coach (head of the snake) it's one of those that needs to be addressed immediately.

What makes it so damn frustrating is the following:

So far Casey has not mentioned anything about his decision-making after the games, he has not taken responsibility for any of those losses, he has not admitted he made mistakes in regards of rotations and other coaching decisions and consequently he has not made any adjustments or changes to improve on this situation. He has maintained his views on how to play/change rotations over the game and how to close out games, how to react to different closeout lineups. His rotations on too many occasions were highly questionable, yet he didn't address this in any way. It's like he refuses to admit his mistakes and do changes. And those mistakes are obvious to anybody, which makes the situation incredibly frustrating as we all seem to be stuck in a situation with no issue... problems are there, but no one admits them and commits to changes.

Then situations and emotions follow: No adjustments from within, no one to admit mistakes, no changes after repeated mistakes, more frustration, more need for accountability, still nothing, still more frustration, envisioning of extreme solutions among fans, bad overall mood surrounding the franchise.

Yeah Casey has had some weird rotations, but he's also got a bunch of players that are new to him and a bunch of players that aren't very good at professional basketball. Some are both. Coaches need time and stability to develop a team. Even in teams loaded with top-tier talent, and the Raps obviously aren't. He's starting a rookie at center, and Calderon, Bargnani and DeRozan are all below average defensively (though DeRozan is better than last year, I'll give him that). Right now on offence they've got no three point shooting from the 2, the 3 for half the game since that's all Kleiza is playing, and the 5, unless they play a 2 PG line-up that kills them defensively. Wondering why Valanciunas' rolls to the basket aren't more open and why they don't draw more open 3s? The defence doesn't have to respect them behind the line, they just clog up the paint, and when the guards go crashing in they're going right into a set defence and not getting calls. As much as it pains me to say this because I'd still like him gone, Bargnani's game is really diminished if he's not surrounded by other guys that can shoot. They need more pieces before you can start blaming the coach for not getting wins.

Having said that, I am completely behind firing the whole staff. I would start with Colangelo, Stefanski, Gherardini, Kelly, and just keep going right on down to the kids with the mops. This organization needs an enema in the worst way.

Lark, you described problems offensively.
But what about DEFENSIVELY?
you know, his specialty?

Oh, I mentioned it. Since Lowry has been hurt they're starting Calderon, DeRozan, and Bargnani, all of whom are below average defensively. And that's being generous at times. They're also starting a rookie and giving a lot of minutes to Kleiza and Lucas 3. That's 6 of their rotation players that aren't really plus defenders, down to 4 that play big minutes when Lowry is healthy and Lucas 3 (hopefully) gets no minutes.

remember how awesome casey was last year when the fans didn't demand anything. now he is the worst because we are still a bad team a year after being a horrible team. god i can't believe casey doesn't have us at the top of the game especially after how awesome everyone knew we would be after preseason. god casey god. a year is more than long enough with one of the youngest teams in the league without any great players on it.

some people are fucking brutal. topsy-turvy knee jerk reactions are a virtue i heard.

I am just one person who thinks i having a very good knowledge of the game. casey runs good sets, very good sets in fact. we just have a bad team...

barg is completely useless if he is not scoring, not going to grab you rebounds, not going to play good help D we know this

amir is undersized
ed davis undersized
calderon can not D up anyone on this level we know this.
derozan cant extend the floor with a consistant deep threat
rookie center

individually all the weakness I listed can hidden but collectively any team in this league can pick us apart over the course of a game. We have alot of weakness we are trying to hide and no strengths + injuries = loses alot of loses.

I seen enough of this team this year to firmly say with out a major move we will not make playoffs this year unless other teams have a massive breakdown

+1 grindhouse. i am one who said we could be playing 500 ball and make the playoffs. i am also not going to change that prediction. i am not jumping and screaming for change, although i think they will happen because toronto fans usually get what they want and if it isn't winning they whine until change happens so they can complain about the next crop of players/coaches.

3-8 sucks as a record but it is 11 games of an 82 game season and we still haven't won 2 games in a row.